


In Vino, Magnum Bonum

by T Verano (t_verano)



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: 2015 TS Secret Santa Drabble Days Extravaganza, Christmas fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2020-05-12 21:48:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19237756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_verano/pseuds/T%20Verano
Summary: In which Three Dog Night plays a starring role in a long overdue conversation (of sorts) in the loft.





	In Vino, Magnum Bonum

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 TS Secret Santa Drabble Days Extravaganza
> 
> (Actually it was intended to be for the "joy" prompt, but it ran too far over the word limit. :-))

"'Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine.'"

Jim paused as he hit the stairs' second-floor landing and winced. Blair had to be six sheets to the wind if he was singing that loudly and uninhibitedly — and singing a song from the early '70s, no less. For a moment, Jim was tempted to turn around and spend the rest of the evening somewhere quieter. Like, say, a mall, with all its attendant Christmas shoppers. 

On the other hand, Blair didn't get trashed very often, and when he did, there was usually a reason.

Right. Jim sighed and started up the stairs again. He refused to let himself pause in the hallway outside the loft — even though the prospect of those Christmas-crazed mall shoppers suddenly seemed like a walk in the park, comparatively speaking — and opened the door just in time for another burst of lyrics. 

"'— throw away the cars and the bars and the wars and make sweet love to you.'"

Jim had to hand it to Blair; even sauced to the gills he could carry a tune. He didn't look too happy about his singing ability, though. He looked startled and embarrassed — both of which Jim figured had to do with having suddenly acquired an audience — and also sad.

Sad. Shit.

"'Joy to the world, all the boys and girls now, Joy to the … Joy to the….'" Blair's voice had faltered as soon as he'd seen Jim, and now it trailed off entirely.

"Chief?" Jim said cautiously. "Didn't know you liked Three Dog Night."

Blair turned away, swaying a little. "'s a Chrissmas carol. 's Chrissmas, Jim. Parson Brown and let it snow and everything. Isn' it?" He sounded much more drunk talking than he had singing.

"Uh-huh. I think maybe you should sit down," Jim said. And sleep it off, which Jim did _not_ say. Yet. "Did something happen?"

"Why?" Blair peered at Jim suspiciously, his hackles clearly up all of a sudden, and Jim rolled his eyes as he took Blair's arm and escorted him to the sofa. Getting him to sit down on the sofa itself and not the floor in front of the sofa involved a brief skirmish, but a drunken Blair wasn't anywhere near coordinated enough to win that particular battle. He wasn't anywhere near coordinated enough to be successful in his grab at the nearly decimated bottle of wine sitting on the coffee table, either.

"Why do you wan' me to sit down?" Blair said again, after Jim finally got him deposited on the couch unencumbered by additional Bordeaux. He picked up a cushion and hugged it to his chest. "Why, why, why," he added, almost chanting. "Why'd you ask for why?"

Jim sighed. "Why? Because you're drunk, Sandburg."

"'Sandburg.' Tha's why. You know?"

"No, I don't know; that's why I'm asking. Why don't you tell me?"

"You wouldn' like it." Blair was back to looking embarrassed and sad, and Jim sighed again.

"Try me."

"You don't wan' me…" Blair shook his head like a fly was buzzing around it. "You don' want me _to,_ I mean. Try you, I mean. No, tell you; I mean _tell_ you. God, I don' know what I mean. I think I'm spinning."

"I think you're drunk."

Blair hiccupped. "I am?" He nodded his head solemnly. "I am. _Why_ am I drunk, Jim? Tha's the question."

"Can't argue with you there."

"Oh, I know!" Blair brightened. "I remem…member why. It's 'cause I want to throw away the cars and the bars and the wars." 

How speaking in song lyrics could make Blair sound very nearly sober, Jim didn't know. What Jim did know was that the smile Blair gave him at that moment — the achingly sweet and breathtakingly _open_ smile — hit him smack in the solar plexus. He hadn't been prepared for that smile. Not tonight. Not directed at _him._

Blair swapped speaking for singing again, softly, his eyes never leaving Jim's, "'And make sweet love to you.'" 

And Jesus fuck — that, or the way it sounded, at least, hit Jim smack in the solar plexus, too. And elsewhere.

Blair's smile turned wistful. He hiccupped again and said, still sounding very nearly sober, "'If I were the king of the world…' But I'm not. I'm not. An' you're… you. You wouldn' want me anyway." He closed his eyes and sagged back against the couch cushions.

And the way _that_ sounded…. sweet Jesus _fuck._

Jim took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Chief," he said quietly. Not that Blair heard him, if the gentle snoring that was now coming from the couch could be taken as evidence. "Blair," Jim added, still quietly, since he wasn't trying to wake Blair up, but just to practice not saying 'Sandburg.' 

That could come in handy later, saying 'Blair' instead of 'Sandburg.' If there'd been any _veritas_ in Blair's _vino,_ anyway.

Christ, let there have been _veritas_ in Blair's _vino._ Let the song have gotten it right and that Bordeaux turn out to have been some mighty fine wine. 

As far as the rest of it, Jim couldn't say he particularly cared about the fishes in the deep blue sea, or even all the other boys and girls, but he would be perfectly willing to share a little something along the happiness line with Blair. Had been willing to do that for quite a while now.

"Joy," Blair muttered, between one snore and the next, or at least it sounded like that to Jim, and Jim smiled. 

"Yeah, Chief," he said as Blair continued to snore softly, "maybe we can give that a shot. I'm game if you are."

**Author's Note:**

> "Joy to the World" was written by Hoyt Axton and made famous by Three Dog Night. The full lyrics are below -- no copyright infringement intended! Just a lot of appreciation for a song that brings back some mighty fine memories for me. 
> 
> _Jeremiah was a bullfrog_  
>  Was a good friend of mine  
> I never understood a single word he said  
> But I helped him a-drink his wine  
> And he always had some mighty fine wine 
> 
> _Singin' joy to the world_  
>  All the boys and girls now  
> Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
> Joy to you and me 
> 
> _If I were the king of the world_  
>  Tell you what I'd do  
> I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war  
> Make sweet love to you 
> 
> _Sing it now, joy to the world_  
>  All the boys and girls  
> Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
> Joy to you and me 
> 
> _You know I love the ladies_  
>  Love to have my fun  
> I'm a high life flyer and a rainbow rider  
> A straight shootin' son-of-a-gun  
> I said a straight shootin' son-of-a-gun 
> 
> _Joy to the world_  
>  All the boys and girls  
> Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
> Joy to you and me 


End file.
